Peder's Hawk and Miri's Fox
by XS Fanatic
Summary: Takes place after the last sentence of PA. Peder is working on a secret project, and Miri wants to know what it is. When he surprises her with the finished project, she has something to say to Peder. "But, how to do it?" There's always quarry speech."
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everybody! My name is XS Fanatic, and, while I've been part of this site for quite some time, this is my first story for PA. This is due to the fact that my other stories are for Xiaolin Showdown. Please go easy on my first non-XS related story, and, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Shannon Hale. Does that answer your question?**

Miri sighed as she stared out at the fields, in the direction of Britta's garden. After walking her home from the academy, Peder had offered to take Miri for a walk later that day. After spending time with her pa, Laren, and her sister, Marda, and giving them the painting of the beautiful house that Olana had given her, Miri realized how late it had gotten. _Shoot!_

Miri rushed out to meet Peder an hour ago, thus leading her to this position and still waiting.

"Miri!"

At the sound of her name, she turned her head, her brown braid whipping around as she did, and spotted, with her blue eyes, Peder trotting up to her as she stood. His curly straw-colored hair shined a golden color in the light of sunset.

"Peder Doterson, what took you so long? I have been waiting for an hour."

Still catching his breath, Peder replied, "I'm sorry. I… never meant… to make you wait." He took another deep breath. "I was working on something back at home."

Miri smiled before replying, "You are forgiven."

As they walked, all was silent. Miri was certain that Peder could feel her heart do a back-flip as he took hold of her hand, much like he had earlier that afternoon. She smiled at the impressive shade of red that spread across his face when she laced her fingers into his.

"Nervous?" She asked, slightly incredulous. It was unusual, really. It was usually herself that had a blush on her cheeks. Seeing such a thing on Peder was an unusual, yet pleasant, sight for her.

"Well, uh, I…"

He seemed at a loss for words, so Miri simply laughed, and, feeling brave, kissed his cheek, like he did to her at spring holiday. The only difference being… she didn't run off after she did it.

Peder's face seemed to turn ten different shades of red with surprise. At one point, it looked almost purple. Miri knew that her face wasn't all that pale either.

The two of them walked like that for a while, hand-in-hand, fingers laced, neither one of them wanting to break the pleasant silence. That is, until Miri asked….

"What's the project?"

"Huh?"

"You said that you were working on something back at your house. What are you working on?"

Peder turned away to hide his blush. "Oh. Uh, it's kind of a surprise."

"Oh, come on, Peder! I promise that I wouldn't tell a soul! Not Pa, or Marda, certainly not Bena or Liana. I wouldn't even tell the goats!" She said this in an attempt to lighten his mood. It didn't work much, but Miri was, however, able to get a smile out of Peder.

"Miri…. It's nothing bad, I just want to keep it a surprise for now. Not even Esa knows about it."

"Now, what would be so top-secret, that you'd even keep it from your little sister?"

"First of all, I am sixteen now, and there are things that I OBVIOUSLY want to keep from my sister."

"Such as?"

Peder smiled before replying, "Such as moments like this. Special moments…. with you."

Miri blushed at this, but gave a small smile as he gave her hand a gentle, comforting, squeeze.

"Second of all, if I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise."

"You seem to imply that this surprise is for me."

"It's the only hint you're getting."

Miri laughed at this. "You're starting to become as stubborn as my nanny goat."

Peder also laughed. "Well, you're becoming as pushy as a billy goat mad. Oh, wait, you were already there!"

She playfully nudged him with her shoulder, being careful not to let their hands come unclasped. They both laughed joyously before Peder brought her home…..

**HEY! So, that's it for chapter one. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Go easy on me, since this is my first story for ****Princess Academy****. Please click on the review button, and leave comments, feedback, advice, anything that isn't a flame, and, I'll try to update ASAP. See ya!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Me again! I didn't get very many reviews last chapter, so, if you're reading this, then PLEASE REVIEW! AND SPREAD THE WORD OF THIS STORY, PLEASE! Anyway, I'd like to thank the few people that actually DID review...**

**To Glumbiemon24: I also fell in love with Miri's story! I've read PA at least three or four times! I was actually aiming for making this story in the same aspect and style of the book, so, I'm glad that I was able to reach the intended goal. Thank you so much for the praise! It really means a lot to me that someone thinks so highly of my first PA story, and would tell me that I've achieved the goal that I was hoping to reach. I don't intend on changing the way that Miri and Peder's relationship is going, though, since I don't understand what you mean by the relationship going too fast.**

**To DancingQueen117117: As said in the reply, thank you SO much for the compliment, and, as for MORE PA stories, weeeelllll...we'll see what the future holds...**

**Disclaimer: Nope... Still not mine...**

* * *

The next few days were awfully quiet for Miri. She had grown so used to Britta's conversation while at the academy, and, with Peder being so... EVASIVE lately, the only one there was to talk with was Marda.

"I just don't understand why he's avoiding me."

"Miri, don't think like that! He hinted that it's a surprise for you, right?"

"Well... yes."

"For all we know, he's simply planning something special for you. Don't worry."

Miri smiled at this. Marda always knew just how to make her feel better when it came to this sort of thing."Maybe. I just hope that he hasn't changed his mind about me so quickly"

Marda jokingly made a fist, as she replied, "If he does, I'll pound him harder than the mallets on the linder."

Miri again smiled at her sister's words.

* * *

After two more days of Peder's unusual avoidance, Miri couldn't take it anymore. She marched right up to his house, and knocked on the door. She was going to find out why Peder was avoiding her, after showing her that he actually liked her the way that she liked him. It was Esa that answered.

"Hello, Esa!" Miri smiled at her friend

Esa smiled back. "Hello Miri! I'm glad that you're here. Peder wants you to meet him down by the stream. He has a surprise for you." Esa gave a wink as she explained this to Miri.

Miri blinked a few times. She couldn't believe her stroke of luck, what with how easy that was. After thanking Esa, and asking her to say hello to her mother, Doter, Miri headed down towards the stream like Esa said.

* * *

"Peder! PEDER! Peder, where are-"

She stopped abruptly, staring in awe at the scene before her.

There was Peder, standing shyly by the stream-side picnic that he had set up. It was wonderful. There was bread, goat cheese, a bucket of clean drinking water (ladel right beside it to drink out of), and a bowl of, what Miri assumed was, home-made rabbit stew, courtesy of Peder and Esa's Ma, Doter, all laid out on a blanket for two.

"Peder..." Miri was smiling, small tears forming in her eyes.

Peder continued to look shy. "I was hoping that you'd like it..." He blushed. "I...felt like doing something special."

"But... why?" Miri's confusion showed in her sky-blue eyes.

Peder's blush deepened. "You'll find out... Come on, let's eat!"

* * *

It was one of the best meals Miri had eaten in a long time. Not to mention, her first dinner ALONE with Peder.

"So, Peder, " Miri began, "What's this surprise you keep telling me about?"

Peder shied away slightly. "Well... I..." He sighed, and said, "I wanted to give you something." He fished around in his pocket.

"Give me what?" Miri asked quizzically.

Peder seemed to have found it."This..." He pulled out a necklace, hand-woven, with a small charm on it. A small linder hawk.

Miri gave a small gasp of surprise. "Peder..."

He smiled. "Well, you asked me if I could make another one for you, remember? But, this one's even better than the first one. It's a necklace now, so that you may have it with you at all times. It's also more clean-cut, and, I was able to find a small peice of that old blue-veined linder, and, I used that because it reminded me of you, and your blue eyes..." Peder's own eyes were shining.

Miri had tears in her eyes, and she threw her arms around Peder in a hug. "This is why you've been so secretive lately, isn't it? Peder Doterson, you're as sneaky as a fox."

As she pulled away, Miri could see a sly smile on Peder's face. "I thought you might say that." He pulled another linder-charm necklace from his pocket, this one with a charm that looked like a fox.

Miri laughed a bit, and asked, "But, why make them into necklaces?

Peder gulped and said, "It's so that you never lose it. So that NEITHER of us will. And, i made the fox for myself, so that, if you ever need to," he blushes, "or WANT to, we could communicate to each other through quarry speech."

Miri was absolutely touched. It was the absolute sweetest thing that ANYBODY had ever done for her, and, that's what she told him. With that, and, a few more hours of talking and laughing, Peder brought Miri home, where Marda and her Pa were waiting for her, wondering themselves what the surprise had been...

* * *

**Me: Hey! Another chapter DONE! So, what did you guys think?**

**Miri: I thought it was MORE than sweet! *hugging Peder***

**Peder: *blushes***

**Rai: Huh. Different.**

**Me: RAIMUNDO! What the HADES are YOU doing here?**

**Rai: *shrugs* I felt like bugging you.**

**Me: *gets a tic-mark* Don't make me get your girlfriend!**

**Rai: *rolls his eyes* Oh, please, I-**

**Me: Oh, Kimiko!**

**Kim: RAI! What did you do NOW?**

**Rai: Eep! *runs in terror from his girlfriend***

**Me: ANYWAY... I'm really proud of how this chapter turned out. Let's hear YOUR opinions, readers. PLEASE? Reviews are your friends! And, if you review, I'll give you a cyber cookie! R&R! No flames! And, if you HAPPEN to be a fan of Xiaolin Showdown, check out my other stories! Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: Hey! I hope that all of you are ready for another installment of this story! Well... I am, anyway... How about you guys?**

**Miri: *smiling* Yes!**

**Peder: *blushes and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly* Yeah...**

**Rai: *pops up* Boo!**

**Me: GAH! *gets a tic-mark* RAIMUNDO! *pinches the bridge of my nose in aggravation* Ugh... Fine. Whatever, I'm too tired to argue with you, Wind-Boy... Anyway, as for the disclaimer... I AM NOT SHANNON HALE! DEAL WITH IT!**

**(READ BOTTOM AUTHOR'S NOTE! EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!)**

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Miri awoke with a small smile. It had been a week since Peder's little surprise, and she hadn't removed her hawk-necklace ever since.

She simply adored the fact that Peder would go to all of this trouble for her. After all those years of being slightly jealous of the quarriers, Miri couldn't help but feel special when she was with Peder. He joked with her, told her the truth outright, she was the first one that he told his passion for carving to... But, mostly, it was the way he acted NOW; The way he held her, the way he whispered in her ear,the way he smiled at her, and hugged her, and held her hand. Of course, they hadn't kissed yet. Miri thought that the idea was positively nerve-wracking, and she was certain that Peder thought the same, considering all that they've built up since they first met, up until now. What if one simple kiss destroyed all of that? Miri couldn't stand the thought. She brought her smile back to her face and readied herself for the day ahead.

* * *

Throughout the day, Miri started feeling... different towards Peder. GOOD different, but...

It was almost as if she was starting to develop a stronger likeness to Peder, her feelings towards Peder growing more once again. She consulted with Marda, who came to a conclusion that shocked Miri more than anything.

"Are you certain, Marda, that THAT'S what it is?" Miri asked.

Marda smiled before replying, "Absolutely, Miri. It wouldn't surprise me in the least with the way I see you two gaze at each other."

Miri could feel herself blush. "But... what should I do?"

"Tell him, " Marda replied with a smile.

The heat in Miri's cheeks increased. "But, how to do it?"

Marda paused a moment to ponder this, then snapped her fingers, her face alight with an idea. "There's always quarry speech."

* * *

**Me: YES! Another chapter FINISHED! What is Miri going to tell Peder? SEND ME YOUR GUESSES, DEAR REVIEWERS!**

**Rai: *reading through my idea notes, gets wide eyes in surprise* No way... She's gonna-**

**Me: *holds Ninja Fred* Spill, and Ninja Fred goes to the jellyfish!**

**Rai: *pales slightly* Meep...**

**Me: *grins* That's what I thought. *tosses the bear back to him* Anyway, to those few of you who also read my XS stories, I know that I haven't updated, and for that, I'm sorry. My new laptop doesn't have Word on it, and whenever I log onto my account, it won't let me update any story other than this one. If ANYONE has any advice on why this might be and what to do about it, PLEASE let me know via review.**


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